This paper clarifies John Dewey's reconstruction of the aesthetic experience in light of recent studies that interpret his theory of art as being related to social and cultural issues. By focusing on Art as Experience (1934) and his other works in the 1920s and the 1930s, the following three points are indicated. First, he developed his concept of art through his inquiry into the common experience shared by mankind. By criticizing art that is spiritualized out of any connection with the world of daily life, he insists that the experience of art is public and communicating since it has the potential to create community. Second, Dewey was critical of the nationalism and the expansion of the market mentality in the 19th century that had deprived art of the actual sense of community and helped to separate people's experiences. In contrast, his theory of art reflected the public participation of the mass culture in the 20th century. Third, it is of great help to see Dewey's friendship with Albert C. Barnes. Barnes established the school that idealized Dewey's concepts of democracy and art education, though they faced many difficulties of putting their ideals into practice. It follows from these that Dewey attempted to construct a publicness founded on the aesthetic experience of the community.